Tethered shooting on SLT A65/A77

[jjppcc1]

Hi,

I can't seem to find any confirmation of this anywhere.  I am seriously thinking about upgrading to a new A65/A77 but the ability to shoot tethered is very important to me.  Before I pre-order could anyone confirm is these models will have this ability?

Many thanks

John-Paul

[cdgaskin]

I was looking to replace A350.... id like to stay with sony because of all the lenses and kit i already have... i was told the A65/77  was my best option... but i really wanted a teather option after the A700 had it.... yet now i find out this doent have it????  well, youve got 6 months to sort it out, or its a complete ebay kit sale and ill swap over to a brand that has it instead

[jnpatrick]

I'm extremely disappointed by the whole Alpha line. I'm a very old Minolta system user and when Sony bought it they really made it "like no other". It means it doesn't have essential basic features that others have and we, users need. It seems that the whole Sony camera department is driven by some person completely disconnected from the reality where everyone needs a tethering feature but instead they implement anything for this person to have fun from the camera. Why do I need a horizon level feature? Or face/smile detection? To have fun and play with my A77 camera like a child? Children buy A77 cameras?

I'm a professional, I don't play with my camera - I shoot with it. Why do you implement anything for children and there's still no tethering support? This is such a shame for such a company!

I'm so disappointed that I'm almost ready to sell everything from Sony/Minolta I have and switch to Canon, which has every imaginable feature implemented.

Sony, everyone asks you about tethering in A77/65 - just type "sony a77 tethered" in Google! Please listen to us, users. Your customers who give you our money and trust. Don't listen to your childish marketing division (they are not your customers). And implement it. Or we will be switching from you one thousand by one. Until you completely lose your user base, as it starts to happen with your other products.

[silawre]

Well I for one do not require a tethering feature, in fact I'd say 95-99% do not have the luxury or need to carry around a laptop or Mac when taking photographs.  As a professional I can only assume you make living out of photography so I am surprised you have not already invested in the right gear to ensure the risk to your business is reduced.  After all not having a tethering option sounds like a huge risk to be carrying.

I personally do not make a living from my passion but I am very lucky to own an a77 and 850 plus a number of ZA and G series lenses.  I've yet to find any situation where a face dectection option has got in the way of taking photographs with outstanding IQ, you just switch if off!

As for not playing with a camera that is a shame as surely that is the only way to get the best out of, find out what it can do and take advantage of the many excellent options and configuration changes that can be made.

Sadly your comment that they will totaly lose their user base is not true as this Sony user will not be moving!

I'd suggest if you want Sony to listen a more positive approach would be required rather than a cherlish negative rant?

Si

[jnpatrick]

Well, maybe I'm a bit angry and rude - but too much time have passed for Sony to develop their cameras line after buying Minolta, while listening to their users. I'm just tired of it. So many Alphas and the changes are minimal comparing to competition. A77 should have appeared 3 years ago to be a true achievement in this area. Of course I mean professional customers, who work in the studio and work with the clients who often dictate the rules. (OK, then again, maybe Sony cameras are not designed for this type of customers? Then I'm deadly wrong here)

It seems Sony doesn't listen to their customers as tethering option was discussed long ago across forums everywhere. So I was sadly speaking to myself.

As about face/smile detection - of course you switch it off the moment you buy the camera because it's useless. It may be needed for people with point-and-shoots to have fun. What I was talking about is that instead taking their time and implementing the useless feature it's better implement something that is really needed (tethering support).

And yes, it seems I'm moving away from Sony to a company that truly supports their professional users (seems like Canon is a good choice) - e.g. provides tethering on their recent models, allows to modify firmware, constantly improves their cameras etc. You're absolutely right - for me, current Sony is a risk I don't want to be carrying.

[silawre]

Well good luck hopping over to pastures greener I wish you all the best in your "risk free" land of another manufacturer ;-}

Si

[firionicable]

I just hope this function will be added someday. I will wait for another month before I purchase. https://imagicon.info/cat/12-13/vbulletin-cool.gif">

[jnpatrick]

Rumors say (and life shows) - Sony slowed down (stopped?) updates to their firmware for cameras. Seems like the Sony camera department is sinking slowly into oblivion with disrespect to their customer....

[TomNSF]

I agree about the speed of firmware development.

Here's a radical idea: open source the firmware if Sony doesn't have the developer resources or interest in improving it.

Sony's in the hardware business and releasing the firmware source into the developer community would disrupt the market place (e.g. Canon and Nikon). The Sony A77/A99 line would become the hottest thing out there if they did.

I suppose Sony is worried about competition stealing your features / source. One solution is to release sensitive parts of it as binary libraries and the camera controling source as Non-commercial reuse only. If a competing company steals any code, then they have to release their firmware as well.

I can't imagine Sony's company culture ever accepting this radical approach, and that is unfortunate. I've worked with Japanese tech companies developing software before and they are just way too conservative. More worried about failure than wild success.

[Kinastowski]

Theres been alot of back and forth on the tethering discussion. Wheter the Update is coming or not. In my opinion I think Sony should give way for popular demand. Infact the discussion has been ongoing since the release, so why hasn't Sony tried the official PR approach, and talked directly to their consumers and given them a fair and straight answer. Sony claims that we have all bought a semipro camera, as to that, they should have expected, that some of us would have the need of tethered shooting. In my opinion this is sending a somewhat arrogant message to the users, that... "no we don't think there is any of our consumers that have that kind of need" hence thinking that the user is not qualified and would probably buy a diffenrent brand of camera to shoot tethered. Or it might be the otherway around of Sony thinking... "no we're not good enough as a brand" going in to the proffesional area... I as a user choose to believe that this is the reason...

Don't get me wrong. I love my A77. In so many ways they have given the cameraworld a new way of approach to taking pictures, but the lack of thinking of such a small, yet crucial part of picturetaking... Well it makes me wonder about the selfconfidence in the Sony brand as new and innovative...

In short... PLEASE GIVE US THE TETHERING FIRMWARE UPDATE!!!!  Even if there is nothing else in the update, this would be the best firmware release yet.

[chgaski79]

Ok, emailed Sony re tethering in future firmware update, here's the cut and paste of their reply:

"Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

I understand that you are inquiring about the addition of the tethering function on the SLT-A77 camera. As of this moment we do not have information if and when a firmware update will be released to add this feature to the camera.

It is appreciated you've taken the time to share your comments with us. It is important to receive feedback so we may consider the needs of our customers. Moreover, I have taken the initiative to forward your concern to Sony engineering for consideration and future reference.

You may regularly check http://esupport.sony.com for product news and update releases.

Thank you for understanding."

If everyone can email them regarding adding tethering to a future firmware update, it will make it more Likely to happen. Their email is: support@info.sel.sony.com

Come on people, let's make this happen!!